Rancher's Deadly Risk. Rachel Lee

nodded, his blue eyes touching lightly on her face before returning to the computer screen. She wondered, half-humorously, if he would have liked to dive into the monitor to escape. “And the students?”

      “We tried to create a culture where bullying was frowned on. You know as well as I do that peer pressure is more important to youngsters than anything adults do or say. So if you can persuade the students to self-police, to look down on bullies, you can stop a lot of it.”

      “That’s going to be the hard part.”

      “No kidding. Changing a culture takes time. One assembly won’t do it, it’ll just get the ball rolling. This is going to have to be an ongoing program.”

      “Where do you suggest we start?”

      She liked that he was looking to her for advice. Even in this supposedly more equal time, she was used to men just taking over and directing projects. She’d always put it down to testosterone or something, but maybe it wasn’t. Linc didn’t strike her as short on testosterone or manliness, come to that.

      “Ideally,” she said slowly, “we’d like to get the cooperation of students who are looked up to. The tone-setters.”

      “Like some of my players.”

      “Exactly. They can be our first peer-pressure group, the guys and gals most of the other students respect.”

      “We need to get across how dangerous this really is. It’s not just a matter of scaring or upsetting another student.”

      “No,” she agreed. “It can have lifelong consequences. It can cause posttraumatic stress disorder. And have you looked at the rate of teen suicide? A lot of those can be linked directly to bullying.”

      “We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. First to get the staff and a core of students on our side. Once we have the kernels we’ll need to help them grow.”

      Then he looked at her. “Have you ever been bullied?”

      “Of course. Most people have been.”

      “Badly?”

      She hesitated then sighed. “I guess. I got picked on a lot for my weight.”

      He astonished her then. “I don’t see anything wrong with your weight. Were you heavier back then?”

      “Actually, not by much.”

      He shook his head. “Amazing. I would have thought most men would have thought you were gorgeous.”

      Her jaw dropped but he had already turned away. “I wondered,” he said, returning to the subject at hand, “because you didn’t seem to take the way those guys brushed against you as bullying. Almost as if it were normal.”

      “I didn’t think of it that way,” she admitted. “It was a little strong but I didn’t feel intimidated.”

      Blue eyes settled on her again. “Really? But that’s what they intended, don’t you think? Letting you know that they were bigger and stronger and not afraid to push?”

      She bit her lip, considering it. “I guess so. There was no other reason for it. They didn’t frighten me, though. I just got angrier.”

      “Somebody sure tried to frighten you this morning.” He frowned then and leaned back a bit in his chair, as if thinking things over. “I don’t like this,” he said. “Bullying in general, of course, but I don’t like the way it seems to have escalated, judging by what you saw and what you experienced. Some element is getting way out of line and we need to yank them back as quickly as possible.”

      “Maybe it’s just the four I caught in the act. Maybe it isn’t a trend at all.”

      One corner of his mouth tipped up, and his eyes scraped over her briefly. “You’re quite the optimist. I’m more inclined to think this is the tip of the iceberg. These things don’t usually happen in total isolation.”

      She rested her chin on her hand. “You might be right.”

      “I hope I’m not,” he admitted. “Unfortunately, I’ve been watching that steady fracturing I mentioned yesterday ever since the semiconductor plant arrived. Little by little a line has been drawn. And when you start drawing lines, how long is it before the people on the other side of the line from you become objects of your scorn?”

      “You may be right.”

      “Basic social dynamics. We’ve always gone to war over our differences. A school is just a microcosm.” He shook his head. “Don’t let me start thinking about humanity as a whole. Right now we need to deal with a front-and-center neighborhood problem with as little scarring and fallout as possible.”

      She gave a laugh. “Yeah, we can’t reform humanity in a day, or a school in even a week. How do you want to approach this?”

      He took the task of finding the students for his core peer group, and she agreed to set about finding materials that they could use in a more public venue.

      Then he rose, stretched and said, “I’ve got a team meeting in a little while. I’ll drive you home.”

      “I prefer to walk, but thanks.”

      “Then I’ll walk with you.”

      His words stilled her. “You really are worried about that call.”

      “I wouldn’t say I’m worried, but a little caution might be wise until we see if you get harassed again.”

      She felt an instant of rebellion. She was an independent woman who felt perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and she didn’t need a white knight to protect her. On the other hand, it would mean a little extra time with him, which she wouldn’t mind. Maybe she could get past the force field a little.

      Pulling on her jacket, she remarked, “I thought this was a friendly, nice county.”

      “It is, mostly. But like any other place on the planet, not everyone is nice.”

      Outside, the air still had that wonderful crisp feel of fall, and she almost thought she could smell snow in the air even though the sun was bright. After he locked the door, they began to stroll toward her house, carrying the travel mugs. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

      “How do you like living here so far?” he asked.

      “I’m loving it, actually.”

      “Not dying for lack of nightclubs, theaters and huge shopping malls?”

      She laughed. “Not at all. I’ve never enjoyed mall-crawling, for one thing. I’m always looking for little out-of-the way places full of different things.”

      “We have plenty of those.”

      “I’ve noticed. It’s one of the things that charmed me. I haven’t been in a department store like Freitag’s since I was a little kid. I get a kick out of having the wood floors creak under my feet. Besides, if you’ve seen one mall, you’ve pretty much seen them all. The homogenization of America. You can’t tell what city you’re in.”

      “That’s my impression. But what about things to do?”

      “There’s plenty to do.” She glanced at him, wondering about the line of questioning. “I get together with some teachers to play cards a couple of times a month. We go out for lunch and sometimes dinner. I never liked the club scene. I guess most people would find me dull.”

      “Not around here.”

      “And if I ever get an overwhelming urge for a museum or the theater, I can take a weekend and go to Denver. Come on, Linc. You teach. You know how little free time you have.”

      He chuckled. “You’re right. And there’s even less with my ranch.”

      “And football,” she reminded him. “Anyway, I really like it here so far. It’s different from the places I